“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.”. (Hebrews 2:14-15, RSV)
However you view what transpired during Covid – whether you think the restrictions of masking, etc. were warranted or overdone – don’t you find it sad when you see people now walking around outside all by themselves in uncrowded places wearing masks? I do. I never judge those who feel they need to wear them in crowded situations, for they may be particularly vulnerable health wise. However, when I see folks still seemingly terrified of “catching something” out in the fresh air, I feel grief for them, for the fear still operating in their lives.
All of us must deal with fear. We look at the world and may worry about many things: wars all around the globe, the economy, global warming, the political situation, poverty and injustice, etc., etc. Many of these fears seem justified given the fallen nature of mankind and the corruption so rampant in the world. We wonder who and what can we trust?
Fear is a tyrant. Fear is the primary tool of Satan, whose name means “adversary”, or “slanderer”. Fear makes us self-focused, concerned with our own physical or emotional safety. Fear divides people from one another, causing us to view each other as potential threats rather than as fellow humans beings, as brothers and sisters. Fear makes us ready to do whatever we can to feel “safe”, that new polite thing people are saying these days: “Be safe”, as though that is the ultimate aim of life.
Fear is like a “cork” that bottles up love, love that ought to flow through us to those around us. It’s the love of the God who lives within us, the love which we are to selflessly share with others, the love that IS the Good News of Jesus.
Most of the fears I’m aware of in my own life are emotional ; fear of rejection, of being a disappointment, fear of failure. Those feel like little deaths, though they’re not really. No matter the context of our fear, Jesus came to “destroy him who has the power of death”, the power to immobilize us and keep us from being “salt and light” to a world that needs us to be that. He came to take on the adversary, defeat him, break his weapon of fear, and liberate us to be secure in his infinite love, able to receive, rejoice and then rest in that love that’s more than we need and will never end: “There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out all fear…” (1 John 4:18).
Lessons From Love School 
Chris,
Very well said! Fear keeps us in bondage from freedom. John 10:10 states, “The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (NIV) The enemy’s M.O. is to rob us of the abundant life Christ came to give us by keeping us in fear. Fear, shame, and guilt (what I call the unholy trinity) are the three leftovers from the Fall. However, we don’t have to live there. What will sustain us now and until the end of time is the hope we have in Christ!
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